Monday, March 3, 2014

Dearest Brother
The shock of hearing that my brother had passed away was extremely hard for
me to handle. Memories I had of him were very loving and it makes me proud every
time I remember them. The one person who guided me through life was no longer
there to help me. The bond that we had was very touching. He was everything an
older brother was supposed to be, a leader, a guardian, an advisor, and much
more. We came from a loving family consisting of four brothers and two sisters.
Our father Mr. A. Kurunathapillai was the Principal at Nadesweara College Jr. at
Kankesanthurai. At a young age, our father passed away and my eldest brother
became the dominant person in the house. His name was Siva but all the older
individuals would refer to him as Rasa, which means the king. He set high
standards for all of us to follow.
Anna always made sure we were all right and every now and then inquiring
about our health, job, and how the children are doing. While I was doing my
G.C.E O/ Level exam, my brother came from Colombo for vacation. Our family
always gave him royal treatment. The day I walked him to the railway station for
his journey back to Colombo, he told me about how he has strived hard to achieve
success in life. The walk was about ten minutes and he used the time to give me
advise about the value of education and about the role I played in the future of
the family. The way he talked was unique, he never forced anyone to follow his
advice but it was something great about him that just seem as it was the right
thing to do. In that small amount of time, he influenced me to change my life to
establish a purpose in my living. When I was admitted to the Institute of
Chartered Accountancy, he helped me get into an audit firm. He advised me to
join the Maharaja Organization. As my oldest brother, he helped me a lot in
arranging my marriage.
Upon his saner advice, I decided to leave Sri Lanka and move my family to
Canada. Moving to a new country was hard for us but my brother would always call
to make sure we were all right. In 1997, I produced a Tamil education video
called Tamil Aaram. I personally invited him to preside the meeting at the
release of the video. He accepted my invitation with hardly any hesitation and
gave us a lot of moral support. As my kids grew older, he would often advice
them too about the value of education. It brought back memories of the same
thing he would tell me. My kids were proud of the things he had accomplished and
looked upon him as a role model. As my writing career developed, he encouraged
me to compile and publish in the form of a book. I invited him to come to my
book release in April 2002 and he happily accepted my invitation.
We are really sorry that his untimely a sudden demise had made it not
possible for him to be there physically but I am sure his soul will be there on
that day with his perpetual smile, blessing me. Anna, I dearly admire you for
everything you have done for me. I know I wouldnt be here if I never took your
strong advise. Along with my family, Mala, Aruchunan, and Annanth, you have a
solemn sanctuous place in our hearts. You are a special man who will always be
remembered for the caring love you gave us all.
Your Loving BrotherKuru Aravinthan